Mark Ingram Wins 2009 Heisman Trophy

The closest race in Heisman history ended much like most of Mark Ingram's season. Try as they might, no one could quite bring down Alabama's power back.

The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Crimson Tide running back finished off another run Saturday night with the first Heisman trophy in Alabama school history.

"I'm a little overwhelmed right now," Ingram said as he accepted the award. "It's a great honor to be here, to be a member of the Heisman fraternity. I'm so excited to bring Alabama its first Heisman winner."

Overcome by emotion, Ingram thanked his family and teammates, as well as his coaches, shedding tears like he shed blockers most of the season.

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"Everybody in Alabama has had my back, supporting me. When I'm walking to class, students flash the Heisman pose. People in Flint (his hometown of Flint, Mich.) telling me I'm a winner, that meant so much."

Ingram carried the Tide all the way to the nation's No. 1 ranking and a berth in the BCS national championship game. Ingram rushed for 99 or more yards in eight of his last nine games, totaled 1,542 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. He also caught for 322 yards and three touchdowns.

Ingram's candidacy was declared dead after he rushed for just 30 yards in Alabama's regular season finale against Auburn, but the sophomore's 113 yards and three touchdowns in the SEC championship game must have been enough.

Ingram admitted to ESPN's Chris Folwer that his Iron Bowl effort did make him worry about his Heisman hopes, but he was more concerned that the Tide kept rolling.

"It was in the back of my head, but most important thing to me was we got that win," he said. "I didn't have my best game ever but contributed in a different way.

"I'm so proud of all my teammates. We've had a great season."

Ingram's victory, by 28 points, was the narrowest in the history of the Heisman voting, edging out Bo Jackson's 1985 win for the closest ever.

Stanford's Toby Gerhart finished second, though Gerhart did beat Ingram for the Doak Walker award earlier in the week.

The third consecutive sophomore to win the award -- and third overall -- Ingram knocked off several other candidates with historic agendas.

Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamakong Suh would have been the first purely defensive player to win in the award's history. Michigan's Charles Woodson won the award in 1997, but also returned punts and lined up at wide receiver. Suh made the best closing argument of all the finalists, registering 4.5 sacks in a Big 12 championship loss to Texas. He led the Huskers in tackles for a second straight season, with 82, an unlikely feat for a defensive lineman, and even broke up 10 passes, second on the team.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, meanwhile, failed in his second attempt to become the second two-time Heisman winner. Tebow won the award in 2007 and was a finalist last year, finishing third behind McCoy and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford. Tebow, however, did become the first player to attend three straight Heisman ceremonies since Georgia's Herschel Walker.

Texas' Colt McCoy was a favorite of several Heisman predictors, but like Tebow, knowing his way around the stage didn't bring him the award. McCoy lost for the second straight season, though he leaves Texas as the winningest quarterback in college football history. McCoy wasn't as statistically dominant as a season ago, however. He completed 70.5 percent of his passes for 3512 and 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in 2009. McCoy will play for the national championship Jan. 7.

Toby Gerhart was the most surprising of the bunch relative to preseason expectations. A second-team all-Pac-10 running back last season, Gerhart exploded for 1,736 yards and a nation's-best 26 rushing touchdowns. The senior led all BCS conference players in rushing and finished second in the nation, behind only Fresno State's Ryan Mathews. Gerhart emerged as a serious candidate after rushing for 200 yards in a win over Washington in late September, then cemented his candidacy with 176 yards in Stanford's upset of Southern California. He finished his season with 205 yards and four touchdowns against Notre Dame.